An extreme event during a research flight in Hurricane Felix

On 02 September, NOAA 42 encountered extreme horizontal and vertical

winds in the eyewall of Hurricane Felix (+31 m/s and -11 m/s)

resulting in accelerations of approximately 4G upward and downward in a

short period of time. The aircraft also encountered abundant graupel

and lightning during the penetration at 700 hPa. As a result, the

aircraft returned to St. Croix after exiting the eye. The story of the

mission and data and movies obtained during the flight will be

presented.